Clayton WestCircular Walk

Clayton West Circular Walk

A 6-mile walk round and about Clayton West, taking ina Green,a Shrogg and a Mine.Stout footware is advisable.

right; note it for a future visit perhaps.

After a short distance along the road turn right onto afootpath. Cross the field leading over the gentle Swallow Hillthen descend to Upper Common Lane. Turn left here on tothe road then almost immediately right and follow thefootpath down to the southern corner of Riding Wood. Thepath then goes obliquely uphill to a farm track by thepicturesque 17th century, timber framed farmhouse atWheatley Hill Farm.

South west of Wheatley Hill Farm, tucked away and easilyoverlooked, is Hay Royd pit. This coal mine was established in1908 and is the sole remaining independent pit in the area. Itis operated by the Flack family under licence. Being a driftmine it has no winding gear; the drift goes under Wheatley HillFarm to the coal face beyond. It is a last reminder of theimportance of coal mining to the local economy.

Where the paths and farm tracks cross turn right and godownhill to Lower Common Lane. Turn right and after ashort distance turn right again into a narrow ginnel betweenhouses. This path emerges into a field. Go left and obliquelyuphill across the field then bear left again over stiles downto the corner of Riding Wood. Cross the stile, descend stepsthen keep left on the path climbing alongside the field andgardens boundary. At the top of the field cross a stile intoCliffe Wood.

Cliffe Wood is a small but interesting publicly owned woodlandand well worth exploring. At its northern end is the woodensculpture ‘Into the Wood’, by Simon Todd, one of a series ofartworks that waymark the route of the Kirklees Way.

Our path goes steeply across the wood up steps and a shortcobbled path to a stile. Follow the field edge and into a shortnarrow path leading to High Street. Turn left and follow HighStreet downhill back to the starting point.

This trail was devised by the Denby Dale Walkers are Welcomegroup.

The leaflet was financed by the East Peak Innovation Partnership(EPIP) via the Rural Development Programme for England jointlyfunded by DEFRA and the EU and managed by YorkshireForward and with a grant from Denby Dale Parish Council.

see: http://www.denbydale-walkersarewelcome.org.uk

Walking in and around Denby Dale

Kaye’s Millennium Green

Two buses per hour operate from Huddersfield to Clayton West(Services 80/81, Huddersfield Bus Company) – one per hour onSundays – and stop on the High Street. There is an hourlyservice from Wakefield and Holmfirth (Services 435/436,Huddersfield Bus Company) including Sundays, though most(not all) of these stick to the main A636 road and would involvea short walk up into the village.NB Bus details were correct as of May 2010. Please check atwww.wymetro.com from where timetables are available.Limited street parking is available.For refreshments, you will pass the No.21 bar & restaurant, afish and chip shop, the Newsagents and the VillageStores. The Shoulder of Mutton public house isnearby on Church Lane. Down on the main A636road are two further pubs—The Woodman &The Junction.Look out for the Clayton West Circular Trailwaymarkers to help guide you around the trail.

Clay

ton West Circular Walk

Clayton West Circular Wal

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Cliffe Wood

High Hoyland Church

Bilham Shrogg

The Denby Dale ParishCountryside Project

Walking in the East Peak

and others met at the Cherry Tree to found the first school forthe children of the parish at the top of Hollin House Lane, midway between High Hoyland and Clayton West.

Our route turns right along the footway to Winter Hill Farm.Here cross the road and enter into the footpath opposite. Takethe next footpath on the right, cross the field and enter intowoodland. Another field leads to a stile and stream crossing,and then the ascent of the next field brings you to HollinHouse Lane. Here turn left and follow the road.

At the sewage works turn right and follow the tarmac accessroad uphill to Clayton Hall Farm.

Here you are on part of the Kirklees Way, a circular walk of 72miles around Kirklees district.

At the brow of the hill leave the farm access road and takethe path to the right in the direction of Clayton West. Beyondthe next stile bear left and down to the wooded stream in thelower section of the attractive Bilham Shrogg. Climb awayfrom the stream to cross fields, with impressive views north-westward to the Emley Moor Mast, to reach a stone stile uponto Bilham Lane with allotments opposite. Turn left, andthen left again toward Bilham Grange Farm.

Through the farmyard go right, through the larger of twometal gates, each with an ingenious catch. Continue by thefield edge track – you will see a gate at the end of the track,but about 60m before the gate bear obliquely right to find aslightly concealed waymarked entrance back into BilhamShrogg wood.

Several woods in the locality are called “shroggs”. The namecomes from the Middle English “shrogge”, meaning “bush” or“brushwood”.

Bear right up the wood – crossing a minor track – and followa waymarked path to leave the wood. Follow the wood edgeuphill. Eventually cross back into the dense woodland ofHoyland Bank. Look out for waymarks on trees to confirmthe path; they lead to a broad forest track. Turn left and thenafter 80m bear right at the junction with another path. Aftera short distance take a waymarked path leading uphill toclimb steeply to Litherop Road by High Hoyland church.

Until 1839 the Church of All Hallows was the parish church ofHigh Hoyland, Clayton West, Scissett, one third ofSkelmanthorpe, and the whole of Cumberworth. In recent yearsit has had secular uses ,as a community hostel and now as aprivate house and art gallery. The graveyard remains open tothe public and contains memorials to the Kaye family and otherlocal notables.

Turn right and follow the footpath for a short distance, thenturn right again into the bridleway that skirts the edge ofHoyland Bank wood.

To your left is the village of High Hoyland and there are fineviews south-westward to the Peak District moors.

Continue beyond the wood end and the bridleway brings youto the roadside on Bank End Lane.

In High Hoyland village is the Cherry Tree public house with itsmagnificent views toward Cawthorne and Cannon Hall. In 1816W.B. Beaumont of Bretton Hall, John Spencer of Cannon Hall

Clayton WestCircular WalkA Green, a Shrogg and a Mine.

Starting point: the Village Stores on High Street.

Enter the ginnel to the left of Clayton Village Stores on thepublic footpath which leads into Kaye’s Millennium Green.

The Park was created in the 1890s by John Kaye, the ‘King ofClayton West’, a prominent mill owner, to complement hismansion, Park House. In the late 1990s The Park was donatedby the Bradbury family, descendents of John Kaye, to thevillage community for the creation of the Millennium Green. Itis now managed by volunteers for the benefit of the village.

Follow the path across the Green.Leave the Green by thestile and follow the path to the junction at the next stile. Bearleft through fields and stiles down towards Park Mill, the siteof a former large colliery.

The colliery was the life blood of Clayton West for many yearsand dominated the village with its head gear and largeworkshops, pit heap and a gantry which carried tubs over theA636 Wakefield Road. With the demise of the pits all thecolliery infrastructure has now been dismantled.

At the last stile by a large modern industrial building turnright and follow the broad track, keeping left at the firstjunction, and onward to the sewage works.

To the left is the tree lined River Dearne and this path is part ofthe Dearne Way, a 30 mile route following the river fromsource to its confluence with the River Don at Mexborough.

The substantial block of woodland to the left is Deffer Wood.Not much is known about the early history of the wood but in1894 it became part of the Cannon Hall Estate of the SpencerStanhope family. After the Second World War the wood wasleased to the Forestry Commission but then transferred backto the Estate in 1994. The main commercial tree species hereare Corsican Pines with dark grey bark and long greenneedles. Along the paths are many native broadleavesincluding some fine oaks. Rhododendrons make a colourfulshow in spring. Deffer Wood is well worth exploring in its own

Clayton West

Millennium Green

BilhamGrange

BilhamShrogg

EarthsPlantation

SwallowHill

Hollin HouseFarm

Winter HillFarm

HoylandHill

HighHoyland

Hoyland

Bank

Clayton HallFarm

SewageWorks

Factory

Park Mill

RidingWood

CliffeWood

Upper Common

Round Hill

Hill TopFarm

Scissett Middle School

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Wheatley Hill Farm

Margery Wood

Kirklees Light Railway

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Langley Ln

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Chape

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Cuttlehurst

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Wh eatley Hill Lane

Lith

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Long Lane

Church Lane

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Bilham Road

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Bank End Lane

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Kiln Ln River Dearne

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Clay

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Clayton West Circular Wal

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The former gantry